Before
by Love the wallflowers
Summary: Set before Cammie returns in 'Out of Sight out of time'. Bex returns to school after a long summer or searching for her best friend, she's starting to lose hope as to whether Cammie is alive or not. A short one shot about her coming home... Please review! For Lily - who prof read for me! Please go check out her account for GG stories! Her name is in the AN at the end! R&R xx


**I realized that I hadn't written any GG stories for a rather long time, so here you go. I had the idea for this over dinner one night...**  
**Enjoy!**  
**WARNING: If you haven't read out of sight out of time this will spoil it.**

Bex rested her head against the limo's window and watched as the large mansion that was her school became clearer with every tyre roll. She was aware that her Mother kept turning and looking at her from the passenger seat, but took no notice. The last thing she wanted was to catch her Mother's eye.  
The limo slowed, but didn't stop. The driver rolled down the window and spoke quickly to the guard, 'Bubblegum Guard' as Bex, Liz and... she paused her recollection, not really wanting to think of _her_ anymore than she had to...Liz and Cammie, (she continued thinking the name as fast as possible, too fast for any pain to settle in her chest), had named him in their first year at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women.  
The black, beast-like car purred to life again, and made its way slowly up the mile long gravel drive.  
Zach sat asleep on her other side, his head lolled against the cold glass as his eyes remained shut; like they had been for the past 3 hours. But Bex wasn't bothered, the silence was nice – it gave her time to contemplate.  
Trees and grass passed her by almost too slow; she was desperate to get there now, after the weeks of dread and fear over what she might find out. She tapped her finger on her knee, impatient to see her headmistress.  
Bex looked at Zach's peaceful, sleeping face and realized just how much he cared for her best friend, and that he – much like her – was extremely upset by the fact she'd left without them both.  
It was in this time of mild daydreaming that Bex's impatience was no longer needed, as they had arrived at the Gallagher Academy.  
The driver's hand was there, waiting to open it for her – so he looked somewhat surprised by the force to which Bex applied by both opening and shutting the door without assistance. Within the car Zach jumped at the loud crash and awoke startled. He nodded politely at Mrs. Baxter who had opened his door. She watched as Zach made an attempt to take Bex's case.  
"I'll take it for you" he said, but Bex only frowned.  
"I can carry it its fine" she answered, her lips somewhat pursued in rather unknown anger.  
"I don't mind Bex honestly –"  
"_I can take it Zach" _Bex hissed, and with that she marched away from the car to where her parents stood talking to Mrs Morgan (a.k.a. Her best friend's mother and her headmistress).  
With one look Bex knew that her hope had been wasted. Her headmistress looked at her sadly; she didn't seem like the headmistress she'd known only months before, but she no longer had a daughter or a husband. She had every right to not look the same.  
"Good afternoon Rebecca" She said politely to Bex, Bex smiled the well rehearsed fake smile she'd been taught so well to execute.  
"Good afternoon headmistress" she paused and looked at her parents "I'll see you at Christmas?" she asked.  
"Actually Bex, your father and I have a meeting with Rachel, we'll be staying for dinner" Her Mother replied, Bex nodded once. Fully understanding instantaneously.  
"Okay, if you'll excuse me" She said, quickly picked up both her bags, made her way through the main entrance and up the grand staircase to her dorm.  
The corridors were somewhat empty as Bex walked as naturally as possible, when all she actually wanted to do was run.  
The girls that she passed on her way only looked up at her and smiled sweetly and nervously, unlike previous years when they had stopped to discuss her summer. It was mid afternoon and Bex realized with a quick glance at her watch, everyone was normally here by now.  
Bex reached the door to her dormitory when a nauseating feeling washed over her. She swallowed it back and pushed open the door.  
The room was empty apart from Liz's suitcase on her bed. Bex's own bed was made and untouched, it was the nearest to the door while Liz's was next to hers and Macey's opposite. One bed, however, had its sheets pulled too tight and its pillow too fresh; and Bex had to take a deep breath as she realised that Cammie's bed had only recently been changed, that they'd only just finished scanning and analysing her pillow and bed sheets. That they'd either got everything they needed from the bed or that they'd eventually given up looking.  
Suddenly Bex couldn't breathe. She banged her case onto the hard wooden floor and opened it hurriedly in search for her wash bag. She pulled it out and raced into the bathroom, turning the handle quickly for the shower to turn on. She undressed and as soon as the glass door had steamed up, she jumped in.  
The power and pressure of the hot water was unrelenting on her skin as it washed over her like she was a minor rock under a huge waterfall. But she left no time to linger standing under the hot water, she massaged the shampoo deep into her skull and then washed it out. That was swiftly followed by conditioner and then soap. Bex ran her fingers through her now fully clean hair, tilted her head so the power of water hit her neck and closed her eyes, she groped for the handle, flicked it, and the sudden coolness of air washed over her. Bex took in long deep breaths and let them out again. She opened the shower door and wrapped a thick towel around her. Bex shouted obscenities as she slipped on the belt to her jeans and fell to the floor (not before hitting the wall with extreme force). Instead of getting up, she leaned against the tiles; pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head on top of them. A silent tear fell down her cheek as her distraction time was over. So Bex sat on the floor of the bathroom sobbing for the first time in months.  
She hiccupped and it reverberated loudly round the room, she put her hands over her ears in a childlike manner, as if by doing this she wouldn't have to see Cammie's bed and Mrs Morgan and all the other girls being too nice, like they didn't want to say anything in case it triggered memories that upset her. The action was obviously ridiculous as, by putting her hands over her ears it wouldn't stop her seeing. Bex knew this, but she did it anyway, thinking that anything may help.  
The thought of her being too young for all of this lingered in the back of her mind. It'd been brought up in conversation with Zach over the summer, while they were looking for Cammie in London, right at the beginning.  
"Bex? Bex you in there?" The thick southern accent that belonged to her short, smart, blonde haired roommate Liz came through the door. Bex sniffed and looked at her watch; she'd been sat there for five minutes. Five minutes too long, she had sworn to herself that she wouldn't allow herself to cry in the day. She had to act, pretend everything was the same and go about business as if everything were normal, even when she knew it wasn't, even when everyone else knew it wasn't. But Bex was not one to break down and so life must go on.  
"Bex!" Liz sounded worried, she realized that Cammie's disappearance had made her more quick to act, quicker to worry, and Bex couldn't help but be glad that Liz was no longer taking Covert Operations.  
"Yeah Liz, I'll be out in a second" Bex called back. She stood and tried to look into the mirror but it was completely fogged up. Bex frowned and drew a smiley face on the mirror, collected her things and left, shutting the door behind her; leaving the sunlight shining on the happy face.

**So yeah... Please review! Happy Valentine's Day! My best friend was my Valentine today :D did you guys get a secret card? I didn't ****:(**  
**Review please xxx **

**P.S. Go check out my friend 'floatlikeahippo' , she helped me edit this story and she has recently written a new story about the Gallagher Girl series xx :)**


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